Among those attending the meeting were representatives of the town and the county Legislature and several Colonie residents.

We learned that Albany County houses more than 200 registered sex offenders, many of them in private facilities throughout Colonie. However, two locations in particular have become what can only be called "dumping grounds" for sex offender housing. More than 50 offenders are housed in a cluster of motels along Route 5 (Central Avenue), just west of Route 155, and approximately 10 are housed close to the Latham traffic circle. And at least one of the motels on Central Avenue may seek to expand, so as to be able to house even more offenders.

While the taxpayer-funded cost of policing such housing has risen, the housing of offenders has become a lucrative business for a select few.

The editorial states that "… preventing sex offenders from preying upon more victims is best achieved by the uniformity of statewide regulations and services…." In fact, that is exactly what was discussed at the meeting, and what those attending sought to address.

The legislation proposed by the town would not prohibit the housing of sex offenders, but instead would provide for a more equitable distribution of such individuals, and hopefully, allow for many to be relocated to communities where they may have lived in the past.

No one is suggesting that no sex offenders be housed in Colonie. However, we object to being forced to house offenders who have previous connections to other areas of the state. Specifically, some of the offenders currently in Colonie were arrested in Corinth, Catskill, Coxackie, Cohoes, Troy, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Niagara County, Cobleskill, Dutchess County, New York City, Massachusetts and Georgia. While some of these offenders may originally be from Colonie, many others might be better housed in their "home" locations, in the simple name of fairness.

We accept that we have a responsibility to house offenders with ties to Colonie. What we object to is the increased risk to our community's residents and the increased cost to our town that result from the inherently unfair and unequal distribution of sex offenders under the current law, and the manner in which it has been applied.

Yes, state action might be preferred. However, in light of the apparent inability of the state to act on much of anything of substance, we strongly support this local effort to provide some degree of equality in the application of the sex offender laws to our community.

Lonnie Clar is the president of the Colonie Coalition of Neighborhood Associations.